Chapter 17 - THE WITNESSThe witness was Celia Wynn.
Grace felt physically sick when she saw the name on Victoria's submission. Celia had risked her job to bring the first files. Now a statement attributed to her said Grace had pressured her into fabricating calendar entries.
Celia answered Grace's call on the second ring. "I never wrote that."
"Then don't talk to me about it. Talk to your lawyer."
Celia's attorney compared the submitted statement with her original interview. Entire paragraphs had been added, and the signature was lifted from a scanned payroll document. The attorney notified the board's counsel and the investigators.
Celia came to the meeting anyway. "I'm tired of people deciding I'm too scared to tell the truth," she said.
Before the session, the independent audit finally identified the path of the stolen money: five false vendor payments, an inflated property debt, and transfers into Hawthorn accounts controlled through Nolan and Malcolm. Peter had approved several invoices and concealed warning reports. Victoria had directed the billing and instructed staff to disguise payments as program costs.
Not every dollar was recovered. Some had been spent, and lawyers warned that tracing the rest could take years. Adrián insisted the public report state that plainly.
"No victory speech," Grace told him. "Tell them what the foundation failed to notice."
"I will."
At the entrance, Victoria appeared in a black suit beside her attorney. She looked past Grace and smiled at Adrián.
"You still need donors," she said. "You can expose me, or you can save your precious little foundation."
Adrián opened the meeting-room doors.
"I think," he replied, "you misunderstand what saving it means."
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And Victoria followed him inside, carrying the last accusation she had left.
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